NEW YORK | Empire Station District | 9 Towers (18-20 msf)| FT | FLOORS

[NYguy]

Stop the steal! Lol. I always find these things hilarious.



https://trainsbeforetowers.com/

[Hudson11]

well that is just a blatant lie, but what do you expect from NIMBYs. There will certainly be neighborhood and station improvements agreed upon for the private/state partnership to move forward. They'd possibly get less if Vornado has to go through ULURP, that would introduce give or take between the developer and interest groups, not to mention economic demand instead of a state-approved master plan.

[k1052]

This is why I like a position that makes everybody angry at me. Massively redevelop the blocks around Penn but don't build Penn South and force the agencies to fix the train ops.

Your hate only makes me stronger.

[NYguy]

Lol, it’s so ridiculous. They continue to conflate Vornado, who only controls the 5 northern tower sites, with the rebuilding of Penn Station, itself a separate project.

Penn Station (where I sit even now), is a hellhole, made nightmarish by the current ongoing construction. I feel sorry for anyone who’s not familiar with the station having to navigate it now. At least Amtrak passengers can stick to Moynihan.

But to say there are no guaranteed improvements is beyond ridiculous. Just one train can knock out multiple tracks, and it happens way too often. So Penn Station needs every bit of the improvements coming. That includes the extra tracks, tunnels, and more open concourses for circulation.

Oh, and lets not forget this plan only brings an extra 5-6 msf to the area.

[Raysiri]

Originally Posted by NYguy

Stop the steal! Lol. I always find these things hilarious.



https://trainsbeforetowers.com/

That got me angry.

[NYguy]

The Stewart Hotel (Site 3) won't be reopening, so plans are stirring to convert it into a residential building, but it likely won't survive as it is in the path of the rail expansion.



https://www.bisnow.com/new-york/news...version-113759

Chelsea Hotel To Close, Be Converted To 625-Unit Apartment Building





July 12, 2022
Ciara Long



https://therealdeal.com/2022/07/12/i...o-residential/

Isaac Chetrit to convert Stewart Hotel to residential
Teaming with brother Eli and Ray and Jack Yadidi to build 625 apartments





July 12, 2022
By Keith Larsen

Isaac Chetrit and his partners are planning to shut down the Stewart Hotel across from the Madison Square Garden and convert it into apartments.

Chetrit, along with his brother, Eli, and Ray and Jack Yadidi of Sioni Group are planning to build 625 apartments and 35,000 square feet of amenity space, according to a source familiar with the transaction.

The building can be turned into a hotel as-of-right, meaning without new zoning. The developers expect to close the hotel by the end of this year and finish the conversion in 24 to 36 months.

A WARN notice filed with New York’s Department of Labor said 158 employees would be laid off beginning Oct. 7 because of the conversion.

The four-star hotel, at West 31st Street, was built in 1929 as the Governor Clinton.

Hotel-to-residential conversions are becoming more common as hoteliers seek to take advantage of the booming rental market. In Midtown, the 866-key Hudson Hotel, which shut down at the onset of the pandemic, is set to become a 438-unit development with office and commercial space.

The Stewart Hotel conversion also comes as Vornado plans a major redevelopment surrounding Penn Station.

[NYguy]

The hotel is on part of the assemblage for site 3, which would become a 1.6 msf office tower...

[NYguy]

https://www.amny.com/politics/hochul...-station-bill/

Hochul punts on bill to give lawmakers more leeway to veto Penn Station project


By Kevin Duggan
July 12, 2022

Governor Kathy Hochul was noncommittal on signing a bill anytime soon that would give state lawmakers more leeway to veto her contested Penn Station redevelopment plan.

Good government groups have urged Hochul to fast-track the legislation repealing controversial restrictions put in place by former Governor Andrew Cuomo on the so-called Public Authorities Control Board, before the massive real estate proposal around the transit hub comes up for a vote before the obscure state panel.

“I’m not constrained by artificial deadlines that are designed by other people,” Hochul told reporters during an unrelated press conference Tuesday.

She added that some 1,000 bills passed by the Legislature this session are awaiting her John Hancock.

“Everything requires a thoughtful response. I need to take the time to work with my team and the people affected and come up with the right answers,” she said.

Projects overseen by certain state authorities — Empire State Development in the case of Penn Station — need the unanimous approval from the four-member PACB, which has a representative from the governor, one each from both houses of the state Legislature, and a non-voting member for the minority Republicans.

Cuomo, as part of the 2019 state budget, pushed through a law allowing the governor to boot PACB members if they come out against a project for reasons other than concerns around its financing.

The move came after a deal faltered to bring Amazon’s second headquarters to Queens earlier that year.

The e-commerce giant pulled out amid heated local pushback and after Queens state Sen. Michael Gianaris — an opponent of the project — was nominated to the PACB as it was set to vote on the proposal.

Hochul wants to allow developers to build a massive 10-tower campus of predominantly office space around the station, whose proceeds would fund renovations of the notoriously cramped train complex.

The Penn Station project could come before the PACB in the coming months, and transparency advocates last week penned a letter calling on Hochul to undo her predecessor’s maneuver in advance of a vote.

....Hochul took aim at pols pushing for the proposal, saying they signed off on Cuomo’s law change three years ago.

“I’ll simply point out they passed the law that everyone’s complaining about,” she said.

I'm so sick of these idiots. Hochul shouldn't sign a damn thing.

[NYguy]

The real agenda of these people is so blatantly obvious. Even if the state weren’t in favor of putting towers on top of the expansion, do they really believe that the city that brought you Hudson Yards and Midtown East is gonna let those parcels above the rails sit vacant?




http://readme.readmedia.com/Opponent...-Vote/18817363

Opponents of Controversial Penn Station Mega-Towers Deal Rally to Stop Plan Ahead of Final State Vote
As State Rushes Toward Approval on Controversial Real Estate Deal at Penn Station, Coalition of Transit Activists, Community Residents + Small Biz Owners Urge Lawmakers to Stop Massive Giveaway to Billionaire Donor Steve Roth


07/14/2022

Trains Before Towers – a movement supported by community residents, housing and transit advocates, and local business owners – rallied on Thursday, calling on lawmakers to stop the plan to build 10 new massive towers around Penn Station. The rally took place a week ahead of Empire State Development Corporation's (ESD) final vote to approve the controversial real estate deal. Federal, state and local elected officials called for the State to halt the plan this week, pointing out that many questions remain about the project's necessity and financing.

Despite serious, unanswered concerns raised by New York City's Independent Budget Office, the New York City Planning Commission and nearly every State Senator representing the five boroughs, the Empire State Development Corporation plans to vote on approvals for 18 million square feet of new skyscrapers next week. The plan, which would usurp City land use authority, would enrich billionaire Steve Roth of Vornado without any guarantees the scheme would adequately fund transit improvements at Penn Station. Roth is also a major donor to Gov. Kathy Hochul's campaign.

”There can be no wonderful new Penn Station with Madison Square Garden squatting on top of it. But there can be no wonderful new Madison Square Garden with Penn Station squashed beneath it. Moving MSG is the best thing for Penn -- and the best thing for MSG. Imagine the glorious new station and modern arena we could build if their fates were uncoupled? It can be done. Frankly, it must be done," said Alexandros Washburn, Executive Director of the Grand Penn Community Alliance.

[NYguy]

https://apnews.com/article/new-york-...749a7c44b81e89

State, NYC reach accord on funding for new Penn Station



By DAVID PORTER
July 18, 2022

A funding agreement has been reached for the multibillion-dollar redevelopment of New York’s aging Penn Station, the country’s busiest rail hub.

Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams were to announce details of the deal, obtained by The Associated Press, Monday.

It calls for private developers to make payments in lieu of taxes on new commercial and residential buildings around the station for a period of 40 to 45 years, with the amount collected in excess of existing property taxes applied to the project.

According to the agreement, that money would pay for all improvements to streets, sidewalks and other public spaces — a cost estimated at more than $1 billion — and 50% of the improvements to transit infrastructure including underground concourses and subway entrances.

The overall project is expected to cost roughly $8.5 billion. A recent study commissioned by Reinvent Albany, a state government watchdog group, estimated that the payments in lieu of taxes would amount to about $4 billion. Combined with $1.3 billion the state has already earmarked for the project, that would leave roughly $3 billion to be raised. That gap is expected to be filled by federal dollars and contributions from New York, New Jersey and other public sources.

The funding agreement still needs final approval from the state’s Public Authorities Control Board, which oversees project-related financing for the state’s public authorities.

[NYguy]

I’m sure this won’t quiet the critics…



https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/gov...reconstruction

Governor Hochul and Mayor Adams Announce Agreement on Financial Framework to Support Reconstruction, Potential Expansion of Penn Station and Revitalization of Surrounding Area

Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams today announced an agreement on a financial framework between New York State and New York City that will help fund the reconstruction and potential expansion of Penn Station and revitalization of the surrounding area.

The framework ensures that the City maintains a current and consistent level of property tax revenue while requiring that funding for the station,vibrant open space, and public realm improvements,comes in part from private development. This agreement also affirms the State's ongoing commitment to rebuilding Penn Station without raising taxes on New Yorkers or fares for transit riders.

As part of the agreement, the City and State have committed to establishing a shared city-state governance entity to oversee public realm improvements and ensure comprehensive and coordinated planning and implementation.

The State will sell development rights to private developers and collect payments-in-lieu-of-taxes (or PILOTs) on newly constructed, modern, and environmentally friendly office and residential buildings.

The amount of PILOT payments collected in excess of existing property taxes, in addition to revenues from the sale of additional development rights, will help to fund the project.

The State and the City have agreed that PILOTs can be used to pay for up to:

-100 percent of improvements to streets, sidewalks, public spaces and other elements of the public realm;

-50 percent of improvements to transit infrastructure including underground concourses and subway entrances in the neighborhood;and

-12.5 percent of the cost of the reconstruction and potential expansion of Penn Station

Remaining costs would be funded through a combination of sources from the federal government, New Jersey, New York State, Amtrak and other public funding sources.

To ensure that the City maintains its tax revenue stream, the City will continue to collect amounts equal to current taxes on each development site with a 3 percent increase each year. All buildings will return to the City's tax rolls after the agreed contributions to project costs are met, or after a period of 80 years (at the latest).

Because of the anticipated increase in property values, the City is expected to collect significantly more in tax revenue once the buildings are put back on the City's tax rolls. The City and State have also agreed to cap any property tax abatements.

[Sky88]

Originally Posted by NYguy

I’m sure this won’t quiet the critics…

In fact, this will still make them angry. Now I just hope that the Governor Kathy Hochul won't tell the builders what heights the towers must be.

[NYguy]

https://commercialobserver.com/2022/...-general-plan/

State Board Unanimously Approves Penn Station General Plan


BY MARK HALLUM
JULY 21, 2022

The Empire State Development (ESD) board voted Thursday morning to adopt the general project plan for Pennsylvania Station’s rehabilitation, which is set to be funded partly through private development surrounding the transit hub.

The project to overhaul the worst part of some New Yorker’s commute will cost in excess of $7.5 billion, bringing about more entrances, better natural light, higher ceilings and a possible expansion to the station. The plan — voted unanimously in favor by all eight members of the board — will green light the recently agreed upon funding plan. New York state will cover a quarter of the cost with 12.5 percent coming from the city. Much of that will be raised in the form of payments-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOTs) from developers such as Vornado Realty Trust.

Up to 75 percent of the balance for the station’s renovation will have to come from the federal government and other state partners, such as the state of New Jersey or Amtrak, ESD said in the meeting.

The state will sell development rights to private companies and collect PILOTs on new office buildings, which it expects will bring in $4.1 billion to fund New York’s share of Penn Station upgrades.

”The [general project plan] is the result of input from the public, elected officials and key stakeholders to deliver significant public realm and transit improvements across the district,” Vornado said in a statement. “Vornado remains committed to a GPP that’s transformative for the region and has a strong record of working on successful public-private partnerships in the neighborhood that opened Moynihan Train Hall, completed two new station entrances at 33rd and 34th Streets, and will deliver a new LIRR concourse.”

Up to 18 million square feet of commercial space will be allowed to be developed this way and much of the PILOT funding will come from office and retail leases.

The city and state reached the funding deal earlier this week after a report from watchdog group, Reinvent Albany, claimed that the plan for Penn Stations redevelopment fell about $3 billion short of the mark.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/21/n...pment.amp.html

The Penn Station $7 Billion Fix-Up Moves Ahead: Here’s What to Know
The project promises to update the notorious eyesore but critics of the plan are concerned about the cost.


By Matthew Haag and Patrick McGeehan
July 21, 2022

The redevelopment would be among the largest real estate projects in United States history: roughly 18 million square feet of mostly office space, up to 1,800 residential units, retail space and a hotel. At the center would be a renovated Penn Station, which sits below Madison Square Garden and served 650,000 riders each weekday before the pandemic.

The board’s approval clears the way for an application for federal funding to help pay for upgrading the station, which is expected to cost about $7 billion. New York expects about half of that sum to come from Washington.

The new towers would be among the tallest in New York City, exceeding 1,000 feet in height, though the final dimensions would be decided later. The project requires the demolition of many existing buildings, potentially including a 150-year-old Roman Catholic church, and would reshape the skyline of Manhattan between the Hudson Yards neighborhood to the west and the Empire State Building to the east.

The new towers on Vornado’s five properties around Penn Station could exceed 10 million square feet — more than half of the entire redevelopment’s total size — and consist of a hotel, offices, stores and up to 1,256 residential units. To build them would require demolishing a wide swath of establishments, including a Hooters, an Irish restaurant and various tourist shops.

[JMKeynes]

Does this mean that this is actually happening? I’m glad to see that horrible block of 30th-31st between 7th and 8th come down.

[NYguy]

It’s happening. But you know what New York needs?




trainsbeforetowers.com

[JMKeynes]

Serious putzes.

[JMKeynes]

From the NYT article:

“The state’s plan does not address what would happen, if anything, with Madison Square Garden, whose operating permit at the site expires in 2023.”

I still have not figured out precisely what this means. Could the city force MSG to move? If so, they should.

[chris08876]

New York needs the return of the old subway announcers. The ones that go like.. Laddies and gentel (static) mannn, you arrr noooww fdck enterinnng 33rdd (fart noise) street st (static) station, chhhssshhhhh.

They had those several years ago. Where you couldn't understand a goddam thing. Now they have these feminine voices telling you to please mind the gap between the train and the platform. In perfect English!

In the good old days, you didn't understand a damn thing because the train operator was drinking on the job and the PA system had issues, and that was authentic. Just like the yellow Crown Vic taxi cabs.

But at the same time, the modern skyline and cityscape is far superior, so there's a plus to the present.

There's nothing more authentic and the New York experience than being very tired, and getting to your stop, and the damn escalators, because your legs are tired from the days work... are not working. And won't be working for 9 months.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by JMKeynes

From the NYT article:

“The state’s plan does not address what would happen, if anything, with Madison Square Garden, whose operating permit at the site expires in 2023.”

Right, as they’ve repeatedly said, MSG is not involved in the development. They’re also not touching those 4-5 msf of air rights that sit above it.

And btw, that guy in the middle of that last photo is dreaming about a sweet, 2,000 ft tower. So that shows what they know.

[MAC123]

Originally Posted by NYguy

Right, as they’ve repeatedly said, MSG is not involved in the development. They’re also not touching those 4-5 msf of air rights that sit above it.

And btw, that guy in the middle of that last photo is dreaming about a sweet, 2,000 ft tower. So that shows what they know.

You're telling me that there's 4-5 million sqft, and dolan doesn't plan on taking advantage? That's a ridiculous amount of sqft. Shanghai Tower is only 4 million sqft. Merdeka 118 is in the low 3 million (thank the spire for that).